Michigan
#6 Penn State, #3 Illinois
Wolverines Defeat No. 3 Illinois, No. 6 Penn State in Final Rotation
3/16/2019 7:20:00 PM | Men's Gymnastics
» Michigan sat in third-place heading into the final rotation and scored a 71.90 on vault to make up a 5.95 point margin.
» Cameron Bock won both the parallel bars and high bar titles, while Anthony McCallum earned the vault crown.
» As a team, U-M won both vault (71.90) and parallel bars (65.00).
Site: State College, Pa. (Rec Hall)
Score: #4 Michigan 409.950, #6 Penn State 407.800, #3 Illinois 406.900
Records: Michigan (8-4, 4-2 B1G), Illinois (8-5, 2-3 B1G), Penn State (15-2, 2-2 B1G)
Next U-M Meet Saturday, March 23 – at Nebraska (Lincoln, Neb.), 1:30 p.m. CDT
• Complete Results (PDF)
STATE COLLEGE, Pa. -- The No. 4-ranked University of Michigan men's gymnastics team overcame a 5.95-point final-rotation deficit with a 72.300 score on vault to score a 409.950 and knock off No. 3 Illinois and No. 6 Penn State on Saturday (March 16) from Penn State's Rec Hall.
Starting the tri-meet on pommel horse, U-M (8-4, 4-2 B1G) trailed after a 66.35 in the first rotation and dug itself a deeper hole in the second with a 68.65 on still rings. With four rotations to go, U-M trailed by as many as 4.5 points after the second rotation.
The Wolverines began to close the gap in the third rotation with a 70.00 on floor exercise, led by sophomore Jacob Moore (14.45), and a career-high 14.20 from freshman Kevin Penev.
Sophomore Cameron Bock then went on to win the next two events, scoring a 13.70 on parallel bars and a 14.50 on high bar. As a team, U-M took the parallel bars win with a 65.00, while the Wolverines scored a 67.45 on high bar, but could not jump either the Illini or Nittany Lions heading into the final rotation on vault.
Michigan then put together one of its most poised rotations of the season, as four Wolverines broke the 14-point plateau on the table. Penev led off with his second career high of the day with a 14.50, followed by a 14.40 from fifth-year senior Marty Strech, a 14.25 from Moore, and the event-winner for senior Anthony McCallum, who scored a season-high 14.85 en route to the U-M comeback victory.
Tweet of the Meet
I'll be darned... @UMichGym trailed for 5 rotations, but pull it out in the end w/ a big VT rotation! pic.twitter.com/AhCWinpn9H
— StickItMedia (@StickItMedia) March 16, 2019
Michigan will close out Big Ten competition next Saturday (March 23), when the Wolverines battle Nebraska in Lincoln at 1:30 p.m. CDT. The meet will be broadcast live on Big Ten Network.
Players Mentioned
